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It has been absolutely gorgeous here! The weather has been cooler, the breeze has been blowing and the sun has been shining and all we want to do is spend the day outdoors or almost outdoors. We are so blessed to have a sun room or what we call it here in Florida, a “Florida room” at our new home. Although I haven’t had the time to decorate ours just the way I want it, I have have been collecting bits and pieces of inspiration for our new found space and wanted to share those with you in hopes to get you inspired to cozy up your little oasis wherever that may be.

This has to be one of my most favorite Florida room|sun room inspiration spaces. I love that it functions for both a sitting area and for casual dining. The weathered wood and bamboo reminds me of driftwood (one of my most favorite things) and just looks sooo inviting. Makes we want to grab a cool drink a good book and settle in here for quite a while as the breeze blows in. Couldn’t you see yourself here?

I love to store my driftwood finds in a pretty basket. The wood in contrast with vintage metal is so charming and love that it peeks through the wire. I collect different sized pieces to display and others to get all crafty with. There are so many different things you can create with driftwood and seashells, with a ton of tutorials and ideas on Pinterest. Seriously the ideas are endless! Seashells that you’ve collected are always pretty on display in charming little jars. You can wrap them up with jute twine and add labels with the names of the beaches you’ve been to for more charm. I love the use of an old fisherman’s net for a different spin on a chandelier and who doesn’t love a grouping of pretty glass globes all nestled together? There are also tutorials on how to create these if you aren’t able to find the real thing.

For those of you who know me, you know I love a soft neutral palette and although I don’t normally incorporate too much color into our home, this is the time of year that I love to bring in soft greens and blues. The blend of weathered greys, soft hints of color and tons of texture blended together give an island spa like feel and have the making of a space that I want to spend a lot of time in. I’ve seen so many different types of “Florida rooms” here from modern to traditional but have to say my favorite is a blend of coastal cottage with lots of vintage goodies. Wicker, rattan and weathered wood furniture pieces make for the most inviting decor and the perfect foundation for adding your own personal style to.

I am a huge fan of jute rugs and use them all over my home as well as in our “Florida room” They are easier to keep clean than you think and add the perfect amount of texture. Also love drop cloth. I know many of you are familiar, but for those that aren’t. The drop cloth I am always taking about is the fabric painters drop cloth that you can find in your local home improvement center. It is inexpensive, and once washed has such a lovely color and texture. Again there are quite a few DIY tutorials around for charming things you can create with it. We plan on using the drop cloth in our room for both curtains and pillows.

We have so many pretty weather days here that it just makes sense to make the most of this added space and take your meals outdoors. Ours isn’t large enough to have a dining table as well (one can dream though), but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying my coffee out there as often as I can.

Our ‘Florida room” has a vintage sofa, a potting urn filled with seashells and topped with an oval piece of glass that I use as my coffee table. There are so many urns and planters to choose from now and you can pretty much find them at any home improvement store, garden center or a Home Goods if you have one. Our pretty shells are always on display and can easily be seen as we sit around the table. I have a few other vintage wrought iron nesting tables about, a vintage wicker chair, a few plants hanging in macrame hangers and a vintage cabinet that I fill with pretties for each season. I will eventually build a faux fire place that will be filled with candles. Although I change out the decor for each season we always have seashells and driftwood pieces that we find on our beach walks displayed all over our room.

These sunny rooms are such a nice way to extend your decor outside a bit, but gives you the chance to tone it down and go a bit more casual. Kinda sets the laid back island living mentality into gear and gives you a nice place to unwind. You can still bring the beach home or at least in one room. You don’t have to live near the ocean to have a little island escape. There are so many online sources that carry affordable and really pretty coastal pieces that make it that much easier to decorate.

Totally swooning over this room! The doors are so charming and are the perfect entry into this space. Love that they kept it simple and crisp with lots of white and grey and those wonderful wicker chairs. Love the numbers they stenciled on the chairs!

Whatever you may call your space, a “Florida room”, sun room, some variation of a porch, it’s a space that’s definitely worth putting together. On pretty and even rainy days our friends and family always seem to migrate out to our room. We spend many hours out on ours enjoying the beautiful breeze or the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof.

Well that’s all for now. Hoping I have inspired you in some way to pretty up your “Florida room”, porch or patio in time for these pretty days we’ve been having. I’don’t know about you all, but I also find a ton of inspiration while browsing real estate listings. Most often the homes are all prettied up both inside and out and give me so many good ideas. I came across some local listings that I just loved at elliman.com. If you get a chance stop on over and check out these pretty homes for a bit more inspiration.

I’d love to hear from you if you have a “florida room” yourself or if you have any ideas on how you’d like to decorate your space!